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23.9.14

Keeping Up With The Unicorns...Wolseley Skylark Trimmer Review

I love natives, ponies and luscious cobs, all of which come with their fair share of hair. My first experience of clipping feathers/legs was on my loan horse, Mr Harvey who had the legs of a supermodel, or sport horse (possibly a more appropriate analogy)...hidden under sways of hair! And as you can imagine, once I'd clipped them out once, I fell in love with his new suave look and wanted them this way all the time. Fortunately Harvey's owners had a pair of clippers I could borrow and every other month I'd set to work with an extension lead, plug, curly cable and clippers....yes, it was a juggling act! The clippers worked beautifully, although the process was a handful to manoeuvre around legs, not to mention the racket they made! Thankfully, Harvey is an saint cleverly disguised as a shire x appaloosa and never even so much as blinked at the clippers.

Before:

After:

I like to refer to this look as 'Sports Horse Harvey'

The same can not be said for my sensitive Irish Connemara, Oscar.And therefore I kept on top of his feathers by trimming with the scissors as he isn't too hairy, however when a fellow Connemara owner I know appeared with sleek, sophisticated, streamlined legs...I felt pangs of feather envy! Turns out they too have a sensitive sole and purchased the Wolseley Skylark Trimmer & kindly offered to borrow them to us, for Oscar & I to try out, and below is how I got on...

Size - the trimmer fits perfectly in a small female hand, not bulky or heavy. Very comfortable to use

Sound - compared to normal clippers, almost silent (I even managed to trim Oscar's ears, yes EARS, those of you who know us, will understand how big of a deal this is...)

Vibration/Movement - they vibrate strongly and to reduce the vibration I am concious not to 'tickle' with the trimmers and instead, decide what needs to come off and alter the adjustable blade length as appropriate and firmly clip away

Heat - the clippers come with a small (uselessly small) amount of clipper oil however I never use them for long enough to notice heat

Battery - they're rechargeable! They come with a plug in holster and have a red/green LED indicator so show the amount of charge they hold, this makes them so horse (or pet) friendly with no wires to get tangled up in. 1 - 2 hours of charge should allow 1 hours clipping time. Easy peasy

Blades - adjustable, 0.8 > 2.00mm and come with 4 plastic combs so you can easily hack away at longer hair/feathers without concern the blade will come into contact with the skin. The downside to the blades, they're ceramic and can not be sharpened therefore once blunt replacements will cost around £18.00

Cost - £48.00, I purchased mine from R&R Country - which I think is great value for money

Storage - come in a small aluminium case to protect again yard bangs and knocks things take in our tack rooms, very convenient to store.

Type of use - I have used the trimmers on legs, feathers, ears and to tidy under the jaw and another friend has since purchased a pair whose horse is heavier than Oscar, a true cob and they tidy his thick feathers beautifully, so don't think they're only for baby feathers, they can tackle all types!

A fantastic purchase, one I wouldn't be without now...here are some recent before and after pictures.

Above, before. Below, after.

Moving into Winter, Oscar at some point will be fully clipped out, what clippers do you use for bodies and why, please share your options, thank you.